The first railroad depot in Bozeman opened in 1883 when the
transcontinental main line of the
Northern Pacific Railway reached the city. In 1891 a cinder from a passing
steam locomotive ignited the wood depot building, causing severe fire damage. The city decided to rebuild at a grander scale since Bozeman was then competing to become the state capital of Montana. Completed in 1892, the new depot featured brick construction and
Romanesque elements such as a large central
turret. On July 27, 1892, the Bozeman Street Railway began operating
hydroelectric-powered
trolleys on a route from Bozeman Depot to the corner of Main Street and Grand Avenue. Two extensions brought the system to in length by 1901, connecting to
Montana State College at Montana Hall. Amid growing competition from automobiles, the system closed on December 15, 1921, when a snowstorm damaged the last trolley car. In 1900 Northern Pacific inaugurated the
North Coast Limited, an express train between
Chicago and both
Seattle and
Portland that stopped at Bozeman Depot. The
Alaskan ran over the same route but on a slower schedule, making more stops. In 1952 the
Alaskan was replaced by the
Mainstreeter. A major expansion and renovation of the depot occurred in 1923–1924, when a wing was added to the southeastern side in order to accommodate increased passenger traffic. Taking
Prairie School influences, the central turret was also removed and the entire façade was clad in red brick. In summer 1991 the trackside exterior of the depot was a
filming location for
A River Runs Through It, standing in for
Missoula Depot.
Proposed future has been removed Many proposals have been made over the years for reuse of the depot, including as a microbrewery, restaurant, bar, library, community center, office, or martial arts studio. In 2013 stakeholders completed a structural analysis of the building as a first-step toward a potential renovation. In 2000 a pub, Montana Ale Works, opened in the old Northern Pacific freight depot nearby, but the passenger depot remains dormant. In 2020 a group of Montana counties formed the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BRSPA) with the goal of restoring service in southern Montana through Bozeman. In 2021 the authority played a role in securing language in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requiring
USDOT to study restoration of the
North Coast Hiawatha. The study must be completed by 2023. In December 2023 BRSPA's
Big Sky North Coast Corridor was selected for the
Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program (CID) which provided and initial grant of $500,000 for further preparation of the Authority's service development plan. ==References==